Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to in-vehicle communication and, more particularly, to a controller operating an in-vehicle Ethernet environment and a control method thereof.
Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a media oriented system transport (MOST) mode or a low voltage differential signal (LVDS) mode has been used for multimedia-related networks requiring high-speed data transmission in a vehicle.
The above modes may be replaced by commercial Ethernet for communication between controllers in a vehicle. It is possible to increase communication speed through the use of such commercial Ethernet. In addition, it is possible to reduce system configuration cost by configuring the system using inexpensive parts. Furthermore, it is possible to simply maintain a wiring and connection structure by connecting an electronic control unit (ECU) local network to one main system bus.
In a case in which an Ethernet mode is used, a controller that includes a central processing unit (CPU) and a physical layer (PHY) device (for example, a PHY chip) can enable the CPU to be connected to an external device therethrough. The PHY device takes charge of a physical layer; that is, the PHY device takes charge of connecting to a device that is outside the system. More specifically, the PHY device receives an external signal, converts the received signal into a signal that can be used by the CPU, decodes or demodulates encoded or modulated data into an original packet form, and transmits the packet form to the CPU (e.g. using a transceiver).
When booting of the CPU is completed, the PHY device receives a configuration value necessary for the PHY device to operate from the CPU through serial communication such that the PHY device is ready to operate. For this reason, normal operation of the PHY device is not guaranteed during booting of the CPU. However, a plurality of ECUs provided in a vehicle may have various CPUs and operate based on different operating systems (OSs). As a result, the controllers may have different booting times of the CPUs.
For this reason, in a case in which two or more different ECUs (e.g. a controller of a rear view camera and a controller of a head unit display) need to communicate with each other through PHY devices thereof to perform one function, the respective PHY device may not normally operate if booting of the CPU of one of the ECUs is delayed, thereby delaying execution of other functions. In addition, a media access control (MAC) address may not be assigned to the PHY device before booting of the CPU is completed, and as such, the desired Ethernet operation may not be possible.